REBELS SET TO HOST SAN DIEGO STATE AND NEW MEXICO
UNLV will face the Aztecs Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the Lobos Sunday at 1 p.m. as part of a pair of doubleheaders with Rebel men’s soccer
@UNLVwSoccer
- UNLV vs. San Diego State | Friday, Oct. 8 | 6:30 p.m. PT | Live Stats | Live Video
- UNLV vs. New Mexico | Sunday, Oct. 10 | 1 p.m. PT | Live Stats | Live Video
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV women’s soccer team returns home this weekend for another challenging pair of Mountain West matches, hosting San Diego State (5-7, 3-1) and New Mexico (9-2, 4-0) at Peter Johann Memorial Field on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Friday’s game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. PT with Sunday’s weekend finale set for 1 p.m. Both games are part of a doubleheader with UNLV men’s soccer with the men playing at 3 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Rebels are coming off their first league win – a 2-0 decision over Colorado College on Sunday in Colorado Springs – and are 8-5 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain West. The league slate doesn’t get any easier in week three as UNLV faces the current third and first place teams in the Aztecs and the Lobos, with the defending Mountain West champion New Mexico unbeaten after its first four MW matches.
Last weekend on the road, the Rebels suffered a heartbreaker in a 4-3 double overtime loss at Air Force Friday night. It was the first outright loss in OT under second-year head coach Jenny Ruiz-WIlliams. The Scarlet and Gray twice came back to force extra time, but the Falcons ultimately found the golden goal in the second overtime period. Sunday’s victory saw a goal in each half – one from junior Alysa Caso and another from senior Ariana Reyes – as the Rebels notched their fourth shutout of the year.
The Friday night match between the Rebels and Aztecs should be an intense one as both games in the 2021 shortened spring season were tightly contested. SDSU narrowly won the first meeting 1-0 on March 20 in San Diego, but the Rebels returned the favor in the rematch, beating the then first-place Aztecs 3-2 on a golden goal in overtime in Las Vegas on April 3. UNLV and New Mexico did not play in the spring and will be facing off for the first time since October 6, 2019 – a game the Lobos won 3-2 in Albuquerque.
The Rebels continue to rank in the top half of the conference offensively, ranking tied for second in points (61), second in goals (24), second in goals per game (1.85) and fourth in assists (13). Junior Lourdes Bosch is tied for third individually with 31 shots on the year, while her team-high four assists are ranked tied for second. Fellow junior Marcella Brooks ranks tied for seventh in both points (10) and goals (4) with her four scores being a team-best for the Rebels. Defensively, UNLV is sixth in goals-against-average (1.35), eighth in saves (39) and fourth with four shutouts.
Admission to attend the games in person is $6 per adult when purchased in advance of game day and free for kids in high school or younger. Season and single-game tickets can be purchased at UNLVTickets.com. Fans can watch both games live on the Mountain West Network and can follow through live stats. All links are available on UNLVRebels.com. Fans can also follow the action with in-game updates via Twitter on the official team account @UNLVwSoccer.
The UNLV Soccer Foundation will host a free tailgate beginning at noon prior to Sunday’s kickoff.
Stat Leaders:
- Points: Marcella Brooks (10); Lourdes Bosch (10); Alysa Caso (7); Hevani Haunga (6); Nailah Harpring (4)
- Goals: Marcella Brooks (4); Hevana Haunga (3); Lourdes Bosch (3); Alysa Caso (3); Nailah Harpring (2)
- Assists: Lourdes Bosch (4); Marcella Brooks (2); Alyssa Granados (2)
- Saves: Taylor Book (25); Charlotte Brisley (16)
News & Notes
- UNLV finished its non-conference slate 7-2, winning seven of eight after a season-opening loss; best non-league record since 2018
- UNLV opened the season at home for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons and 16th time since the program’s inaugural year in 1998.
- The 2021 campaign marks head coach Jenny Ruiz-Williams’ second season at the helm of the Rebel women’s soccer program.
- After seeing only four players record hat tricks five times over the first 22 seasons in program history, two Rebels have now done it just over a season into Ruiz-Williams’ era. Hevani Haunga accomplished the feat against UC San Diego and sophomore Nailah Harper did it during her freshman campaign in the spring of 2021 at San Jose State
- Ruiz-Williams is the first UNLV women’s soccer alumnae to lead the program
- In the conference-only spring 2021 season, UNLV went 5-4-1 overall and finished tied for fourth in league standings